Taking A Thai To The American West

[Jingthing]

Basically there are years worth of trips listed here. You are going to have to do some personal research and nail it down to three weeks. On Big Sur, yes it can get foggy, but personally I have never met anyone who didn't enjoy their first trip there. My first time was as a boy with my family, and to me it was the highlight of my life at that time, more mind blowing than Yellowstone Park even. Also that was my Dad's first trip there, obviously older and not as impressionable as a child. He dreamed about Big Sur for the rest of his life. There does seem to be a consensus that you can skip Mexico.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Jingthing

[cdnvic]

The Coast Starlight is an amazing run through some of the most beautiful parts of the American west.

[PeaceBlondie]

Ask the lady what she wants to see. Thais aren't farang.

[Nordlys]

She likes flowers, public parks, bicycles, anything romantic. So, Golden Gate Park would be good. Skip over Fishermans wharf, but some SF touristy things are ok, for example Market Street trolley instead of waiting for Cable Car. Pier 1 Farmers Market, North Beach, Haight Ashbury, Castro movie theatre, Union Square, Pacific Heights, Marina, Golden Gate Bridge.

Why skip the Fisherman's Wharf when it's so close to the Golden Gate Park? One thing you don't want to skip is the bay cruise and most if not all cruise ships leave from Fisherman's Wharf anyway. Aside from that what I did with my Thai wife last year was to take a boat (from Fisherman's Wharf) to Sausalito. We spent an hour or two in Sausalito, had taxi took us to Marin Highland where you get fantastic view of both the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of SF (great photo shoot location), then had the cab dropped us at the foot of the bridge on Marin County side where you can walk the bridge to SF. Took us about an hour and a half to cross the bridge but I think you can do it in half an hour if you walk fast.

Also, if you're going as far as Las Vegas you can take a scenic flight from LV to Grand Canyon that includes tours in Grand Canyon. It's easy to combine LV and Grand Canyon in one trip.

Edited January 4, 2010 by Nordlys

[villagefarang]

The only problem with asking what she wants is she probably has no idea what is available. Most of us are showering the OP with our own experiences and what has worked well for us. Just pick and choose from the many suggestions. Of course everyone is different so one should plan for the off chance that she likes nothing.

It would be wise to remember that you are taking on a huge responsibility even if she has good language skills. You've obviously gone through the whole visa thing but still have to get through immigration. It will be up to you to come up with all the answers on the road. She won't be able to give you any feedback until she has been to a few places first. It is all up to you.

Food can be a problem. A sandwich in the car may not do it for a Thai girl. They often need a hot, cooked, sit-down type meal and are often not prepared to wait a couple of hours before you reach your destination. When they say they need to eat, they usually mean right now.

Thai restaurants in the US are notoriously bad. If the restaurant is not too busy it is often best to be introduced to the Thai kitchen staff. They are usually quite understanding and can make dishes that they actually eat themselves.

It will be a great adventure for sure. Since you are both rather young, apparently, it will be a learning experience for both of you. Both of you seeing things for the first time, could be amazing if all goes well.

[villagefarang]

She likes flowers, public parks, bicycles, anything romantic. So, Golden Gate Park would be good. Skip over Fishermans wharf, but some SF touristy things are ok, for example Market Street trolley instead of waiting for Cable Car. Pier 1 Farmers Market, North Beach, Haight Ashbury, Castro movie theatre, Union Square, Pacific Heights, Marina, Golden Gate Bridge.

Why skip the Fisherman's Wharf when it's so close to the Golden Gate Park? One thing you don't want to skip is the bay cruise and most if not all cruise ships leave from Fisherman's Wharf anyway. Aside from that what I did with my Thai wife last year was to take a boat (from Fisherman's Wharf) to Sausalito. We spent an hour or two in Sausalito, had taxi took us to Marin Highland where you get fantastic view of both the Golden Gate Bridge and the city of SF (great photo shoot location), then had the cab dropped us at the foot of the bridge on Marin County side where you can walk the bridge to SF. Took us about an hour and a half to cross the bridge but I think you can do it in half an hour if you walk fast.

Also, if you're going as far as Las Vegas you can take a scenic flight from LV to Grand Canyon that includes tours in Grand Canyon. It's easy to combine LV and Grand Canyon in one trip.

I concur.

We did the museum first, then went to the Golden Gate Bridge. We walked across to Sausalito and caught the last boat back to the wharf. Just in time to warm up with a nice clam chowder in a bread bowl. Walked over to see the seals at pier 39 as well.

Of course it will take many trip to do all the things that people have been suggesting.

[bina]

actually, the guy that talked abou the fields of flowers has a good idea, i found that my husband, even when he worked here with flowers, loved to go see fields of colourful flowers. not boring fields of red anenomes and fields of blue wax flowers but tulips that are multicoloured, yeah, thais love large colourful flowers and fields of them can do some great photos, another thing thais seem to enjoy doing. i just spent twenty minutes photoing a bunch of guys among cukumber rows in a hot house, with them posing...

now i dont envy u planning this trip.

from experience with these kind of 'show your bf/gf/husband/wife' trips, be prepared to have a huge list, that all plans are bases for change and there will be changes. even mundane ones: flat tire (do those happen in america?) , too tired, want to stay longer in one area (glacier good example), wife thinks it would be fun doing x but after u get there, she thinks she prefers y (took husband up north in israel , he wanted to fish so we planned a three day (small country remember) drive. i got too tired night driving so camped before our planned destination, second day couldnt find fish, so changed destination to paid fishing, that night the camp site had too many rowdy teenagers so moved, etc... the trip was not at all what we had planned but was still fun. and america is sooooooooo big. it boggles the mind. remnds me of when my kids plan trips there. i had to remind them that u can drive for days through desert there, and not see an other car, let alone a gas station or a place to eat. here u can drive through a desert in one day and reach an ocean, a city and mountains.

PB -- we took daughter to nogales 'to see mexico'. she was disappointed but at least she could tell her friends that she'd been in yet an other country )

have fun, we will wait to see the pics.

bina

israel

[toptuan]

In L.A., take her to Hollywood, then to Thai town. You might want to take her to Vegas as well.

I thought Hollywood might be interesting, but it's kind of lame just to drive around and look at the usual sights... is there some sort of interactive thing we could do?

Here's something interactive: Definitely do University Studios where everything is interactive. While you're there, get the free tickets to a TV late-night nation-wide talk show at Burbank Studios. Mind you, the "late night" talk show actually tapes about 5 pm. Usually there's a celebrity guest there with a good chance that your wife might know (actors, etc.). She'll get a kick out of watching the live production of a major TV show.

[Jingthing]

Thai restaurants in the US are notoriously bad. .

Sorry, but not all US Thai restaurants are terrible at all! Pretty much ALL the ingredients to make Thai food are very easily and cheaply available in much of the US, especially California. I had the best green curry of my life in San Jose California and the best coconut custard Thai desert ever in Santa Monica, California. Do a little research on the net to find the decent places, that's all. Edited January 4, 2010 by Jingthing

[villagefarang]

Thai restaurants in the US are notoriously bad. .

Sorry, but not all US Thai restaurants are terrible at all! Pretty much ALL the ingredients to make Thai food are very easily and cheaply available in much of the US, especially California. I had the best green curry of my life in San Jose California and the best coconut custard Thai desert ever in Santa Monica, California. Do a little research on the net to find the decent places, that's all.

Lets not turn this into a food thread. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

[Jingthing]

Thai restaurants in the US are notoriously bad. .

Sorry, but not all US Thai restaurants are terrible at all! Pretty much ALL the ingredients to make Thai food are very easily and cheaply available in much of the US, especially California. I had the best green curry of my life in San Jose California and the best coconut custard Thai desert ever in Santa Monica, California. Do a little research on the net to find the decent places, that's all.

Lets not turn this into a food thread. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

Agreed (that clearly you have gone to the wrong places in the US). Food is part of the travel experience. For a Thai traveling to the US, it would be most ideal if they were open to many different kinds of foods. American, of course, but in California it would be a shame to not experience the cuisines that are done better there than Thailand (Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, Indian etc.). It would be a shame to just try to eat Thai food in the US. Of course I agree at the average place it is different and not as good as in Thailand and of course much more expensive (and not worth it if you are coming from Thailand).

[villagefarang]

Thai restaurants in the US are notoriously bad. .

Sorry, but not all US Thai restaurants are terrible at all! Pretty much ALL the ingredients to make Thai food are very easily and cheaply available in much of the US, especially California. I had the best green curry of my life in San Jose California and the best coconut custard Thai desert ever in Santa Monica, California. Do a little research on the net to find the decent places, that's all.

Lets not turn this into a food thread. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

Agreed (that clearly you have gone to the wrong places in the US). Food is part of the travel experience. For a Thai traveling to the US, it would be most ideal if they were open to many different kinds of foods. American, of course, but in California it would be a shame to not experience the cuisines that are done better there than Thailand (Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican, Indian etc.). It would be a shame to just try to eat Thai food in the US. Of course I agree at the average place it is different and not as good as in Thailand and of course much more expensive (and not worth it if you are coming from Thailand).

I agree that Americanized Asian cuisine does suit the pallet of some who don't have access to the real thing.

[Jingthing]

Have you lived in a big city in California? Americanized Asian cuisine? You must be joking. Go to the Viet places in San Jose or Orange County filled with happy Vietnamese. Just one example. Vietnamese in Thailand is awful in comparison. Chinese is another. Anyone from Hong Kong would be much happier with the food in San Francisco than Bangkok. I do agree it is harder to find really good Thai and that it is a poor value in the US, that is almost definitely because of the small Thai population compared to other Asian nationalities.

BTW, this is the USA place that has the best Thai green curry I have ever had. The meat is stuffed calamari. The BBQ chicken is also stellar.

http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/05...ining-0019.html

Keaw Wan Pla Muek

Edited January 4, 2010 by Jingthing

[tutsiwarrior]

is the aquarium in Monterey still there? definitely worth a visit if you're in the area...

[Jingthing]

is the aquarium in Monterey still there? definitely worth a visit if you're in the area...

You betcha. Good suggestion. Probably the best aquarium in the world and the best natural setting. Not the largest, but the best. (Aside, the Thai restaurant on the main coast touristy road leading from the aquarium does indeed suck. Instead ask locals for the famous place with the SQUID burritos, I kid you not.)

Edited January 4, 2010 by Jingthing

[moe666]

We have two very good Thai eating establishments here. Take her to the grand canyon and if she isn't impressed send her back to Thailand.

Golden gate park is not close to Fishermans Warf. If in San Francisco there are some good Thai places on Geary Street.

[bgfkhlgfhgfdh]

Some replies after my post, picked up on a few of the ideas that I implied but did not fully type out those thoughts completely.

My girlfriend likes to pose for endless endless photos, usually in combination with either flowers, animals, bright lights or sandy beaches. So we try to do those sort of activities / destinations.

Monterrey is a good idea because it has the Aquarium. Nearby, there is a white sand beach in Carmel.

Yes, clam chowder in bread bowl is a good idea.

I would also eat as much fresh fruit as possible, I am pretty sure fruit is on the very short "ok to try new foods" list - there are some fruits you can't get easily in thailand, such as berries, and plums, and varieties of apples, tomatoes, etc.

For food in California, there is more info than you can ever need on yelp.com or chowhound.com

I just said skip Fisherman's wharf because it's a phony place where all the tourists go, and can really bog you down, time, money, and energy wise. But yes, it is possible to go there and have fun anyway, for sure. It's just that every other attraction in the nearby area is probably more fun, such as walking up to Coit Tower and seeing the view. Not all ferries go to Fisherman's wharf. Most go to Pier 1, which is why I suggested it. There is a large food market there as well, similar to Pikes Place in Seattle.

As far as grand canyon, obviously some people really like it. It's a big deal, but I don't care for it and would not take anybody there. I myself thought something like...huh...wow...a vast expanse of brownish dirt colors. ok, now I have seen it, looks just like the photo, why did we drive so far to get here? The campfire thing at night was fun. Just overall, not worth several days of time.

[Nordlys]

If you're going to Hollywood, go in the afternoon perhaps after spending the morning in Santa Monica Beach, Manhattan Beach (both have nice piers) etc. Then take Sunset Blvd to the east through Beverly Hills, and perhaps a lunch at Farmer's Market which is 15 - 20 min from Hollywood. It's easy to drive from Santa Monica to Farmer's Market through Beverly Hills. Then in the evening after dinner go visit Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park, perhaps 15 - 20 min drive up the Santa Monica mountains from Hollywood. You'll get spectacular night view of the Los Angeles basin from there. Another good spot for night view would be Mulholland Dr but Griffith Park much closer to the Hollywood.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Nordlys

[Svenn]

Thanks for all the tips, keep 'em coming especially the specific ones. Choosing and hitting the natural sites is the easy part I think, but being from Idaho, I'm not as competent navigating places like LA... but I really want her to enjoy that part of the trip. I hate clubs but she likes them, so I guess I should suck it up and experience a few before we get too old.

With regards to the Thai food, I'm just going to seek out Lao or Khmer restaurants if she has a hankering for something real. I too have seen comically bad Thai food... when we were in Canada she was served a plate of hot "som tam" mixed up with noodles served by Chinese people. I guess that's ok, but just don't call it 'Thai' food!

One other thing I'm going to try to do is get satellite wi-fi for my laptop for the trip- that should make things A LOT easier in terms of planning.

She doesn't have a driver's license- I wonder though what would actually happen if she got stopped.... so long as it's a minor traffic offense, couldn't she just hand the officer her Thai ID card and tell him it's a driver's license? A cop told me a Japanese guy did that once to him and he just assumed it was a license and let him go because of the hassle It would really balance the burden if she could drive some.

[moe666]

Svenn, I would decide on a few locations to visit and leave it at that or you could find that all you do for 3 weeks is drive. Have a great trip and she will more than likely have a great time.

[Nordlys]

She doesn't have a driver's license- I wonder though what would actually happen if she got stopped.... so long as it's a minor traffic offense, couldn't she just hand the officer her Thai ID card and tell him it's a driver's license? A cop told me a Japanese guy did that once to him and he just assumed it was a license and let him go because of the hassle It would really balance the burden if she could drive some.

If your GF can't drive you don't want her to start in a foreign country where they drive on the wrong side of the road (or different side I should say), let alone without a license. And cops in America are not to be fooled with. When I applied for international driving permit in Thailand for a trip to US last year they advised not only that I carry the permit but also a certificate issued by land transport dept. stating my Thai driver's license to which the int'l driving permit is issued for is genuine. In U.S. (if not only California) you can get caught even with the int'l driving permit as the law requires you obtain local diver's license from department of motor vehicle after 3 months of your entry to the U.S. even if your int'l driving permit is still valid.

Edited January 5, 2010 by Nordlys

[zzdocxx]

There are plenty of authentic Thai restaurants run by Thai people in the bigger cities of California. I will tell you what will probably happen, when she gets around some other Thai people (who own the restaurant), they will starting blabbing excitedly and they will probably give her some suggestions about what to see as well.

Sounds like you are going to have a great trip, whatever you decide! ! !

[RPETER65]

My Thai wife and traveled through the the west last year, she really liked the grand canyon and carlsbad cavern. She thought L.A. was ok probably because they a have a fairly large Thai town. A drive up th Calif. coast and then through the redwoods is always good, the maybe on to crater lake on your way to Idaho.

[RPETER65]

With only three weeks, I wouldn't bother with Mexico (hey there is always East LA and San Francisco's Mission District). Too much to see in the USA west and big risk issues with bringing a car down there.

I've never been clear on how safe Mexico is/isn't. I have new small Toyota car, is it in danger of getting stolen? I wouldn't want to go to any touristy places, and thought I'd just try to head straight to the hotel in the guidebook rather than doing any backcountry drives. It's weird, I've lived in Cambodia for a few months and wouldn't have worried (much) about driving the truck outside of PPenh, but yet Mexico still intimidates me. I was seriously thinking of growing a mustache and wearing a cowboy hat to blend in ... and I bet with some makeup and clothing choices my girl could look latina... though I suppose gringos can be spotted a mile away, especially in a place like Sonora where I bet there aren't as many European-Spanish Mexicans?

Took my Thai wife into Mexico on a day trip, no visa needed, but the U.S. did intr\erview her on the way back into the U.S., somewhat tramatic for her.

[tutsiwarrior]

when in San Francisco a neat excursion is to take the Sausalito ferry from the ferry terminal (next to the old building on the Embarcadero with the tower, can't miss it) to Sausalito, have lunch then return; sorta like a short bay cruise, past Alcatraz to Marin Co., etc....

that is, if the ferry service still exists...last time I went I was with my mom who was visiting from LA nearly 30 years ago...

[Nordlys]

that is, if the ferry service still exists...last time I went I was with my mom who was visiting from LA nearly 30 years ago...

It's this ferry.

http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/Ferry/

When I took it last year it made a brief stop in Tiburon before reaching Sausalito. It's also the operator of the SF bay cruise from Fisherman's Wharf along with another company. Bay cruise (along with the visit to Alcatraz) in my opinion is one of the highlights of the SF bay area sight seeing.

[joebob987]

Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Sedona, Colorado and Montana Rockies, Great Sand Dunes are all amazing natural places that don't have comparisons. As someone else mentioned, who knows what she will like or not. Waterfalls, flowers, shopping, eating seem to be important. My Thai friends in the US seem to be more open minded in trying different nationalities food than I would have expected. Having pictures to show others that they went some place or did something seems to be important also.

I had one strange example of that. I had a Thai friend in a small ski town in Colorado. His job was ending and I thought he should go skiing once at least. He somehow assembled high dollar ski clothes for the ski day and looked the part of a rich European tourist. I paid $80 for the lift ticket and he couldn't stand up on skis even for a split second. I thought the day was a failure and waste of money, but he was happy. All he wanted was a picture of himself in ski gear so he could show his friends that he had gone skiing.

The other big difference is people living in the US west, outside the big cities, typically want to be out in nature and away from a lot of people. It seems the Thais are usually the opposite. They usually are more comfortable being around people.

Edited January 10, 2010 by joebob987

[ChouDoufu]

how about albuquerque? nearby reservations, indian casinos, cable car to sandia peak where

you can play in the snow, hot springs in the nearby canyons, take a dawn balloon flight,

great green chili, also outlet malls if you need. and close to white sands monument.

and tumbleweeds.

[maccaroni man]

i have taken my wife to the west coast 2 times and i would have to say if you are driving for a 3 week period use that wisley. vegas was a hit at night with a limo drive, SF coit tower and china town were big hits, carmel beach and 17 mi. drive and the montery aquarium, napa wine tasting again with a limo not too pricey from sf. baseball game was a really good fun, disney, and san diego zoo good she liked SD more. She liked the redwoods but the drive time on upper 1 is a killer. if you are starting in Wa. look at your atlas and you can lay a route on the county roads that will weave a bit but will give you a great trip south. no need for mex and no time.

[Carmine6]

Thanks for all the tips, keep 'em coming especially the specific ones. Choosing and hitting the natural sites is the easy part I think, but being from Idaho, I'm not as competent navigating places like LA... but I really want her to enjoy that part of the trip. I hate clubs but she likes them, so I guess I should suck it up and experience a few before we get too old.

With regards to the Thai food, I'm just going to seek out Lao or Khmer restaurants if she has a hankering for something real. I too have seen comically bad Thai food... when we were in Canada she was served a plate of hot "som tam" mixed up with noodles served by Chinese people. I guess that's ok, but just don't call it 'Thai' food!

One other thing I'm going to try to do is get satellite wi-fi for my laptop for the trip- that should make things A LOT easier in terms of planning.

She doesn't have a driver's license- I wonder though what would actually happen if she got stopped.... so long as it's a minor traffic offense, couldn't she just hand the officer her Thai ID card and tell him it's a driver's license? A cop told me a Japanese guy did that once to him and he just assumed it was a license and let him go because of the hassle It would really balance the burden if she could drive some.

In LA, you have to go somewhere. It's not like say San Francisco where driving around the city can be interesting. But parking is so bad in SF, have a destination in mind there too. Not that there isn't stuff to see around LA, but you don't run into things while on the freeway, and you could just waste a lot of time if you don't have a destination in mind. And destination could be an area like Hollywood or Santa Monica. Lots of areas like those you can spend an afternoon walking around and then find a good restaurant in the evening.

There are good clubs in LA as you'd expect, but you might face some sticker shock. I've paid $8 to $10 for a domestic beer before, and that was 5 years ago. Save the clubbing for Vegas if you can and stick to restaurant/bars in LA.

Universal Studios is a good suggestion. It's interesting the first couple times, then is boring, but that won't be a problem for you. Since it's near Hollywood and Thai Town, you could do 2 days or do all in a day. You can get tickets to be in the audience for tv show tapings. Or sometimes even be in the test audience for a movie. Both of those are interesting to do about once just for the experience, but be aware they're more time consuming than you'd think.

Thai Town is nothing more than a cluster of restaurants and stores just to the east of Hollywood. Worth a trip for the food if you're already in Hollywood, but seriously, just when you realize you've reached it, you've driven through it. It's not an area when you can walk around and browse shops like Chinatown.

Here's a website that has a map. It's really that small stretch on Hollywood Boulevard. If you zoom out or pan left on that map, about 4 big blocks (yellow roads) over you can see the Hollywood and Vine intersection on the map. Zoom farther out and up to the north is Griffith Park that someone else mentioned, west of that is Universal City where Universal Studios is.

http://gridskipper.com/62407/las-thai-town-restaurants

Some other guides on LA since you'll have to decide what you like:

http://losangeles.citysearch.com/guide/los-angeles-ca

http://theguide.latimes.com/

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/los-angeles